Kelmscott Press - The Private Press Movement - Emery Walker Library - Arts and Crafts Museum The Private Press Movement Kelmscott Press Kelmscott Press ‘I began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters.’ These were William Morris’s aims in setting up his own press. The Kelmscott Press ran from 1890 until Morris’s death in 1896. William Morris had been experimenting with producing books for years. In his own time he was perhaps best known as a writer and poet, and no matter what other creative enthusiasm overtook him he always returned to his writing. It is not surprising that he wanted his own works to look good. His first experiment was with Edward Burne-Jones in the 1860s for an illustrated edition of his Earthly Paradise, but Morris was not satisfied.

The slides he saw at Emery Walker’s talk at the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society on printing in 1888 inspired him to start his own press, and he founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890. Morris was determined that his books would be finely crafted and made of the best materials. Walker, with his trade connections, was able to give plenty of practical help. He photographed and enlarged typefaces for Morris to study, and he also assisted with photographing the illustrations. Handmade paper was sourced from Joseph Batchelor in Kent, and after an intensive search, truly black additive-free black ink was found in Hanover, made by the Gebrüder Jänecke. The first book produced by the press was The Story of the Glittering Plain, one of Morris’s own works.

Morris and the Kelmscott Press Morris and the Kelmscott Press David Cody , Associate Professor of English, Hartwick College [ Victorian Web Home —> Authors —> Pre-Raphaelitism —> William Morris —> Works —> Themes —> Style ] The Kelmscott Press was, in a very real sense, the final statement, the culmination, of the work of art which was Morris's life, as it was one of his final attempts to preserve the old relationships between the artist and his art and his society — threatened in his day as in our own — and one of his great legacies to posterity. In 1891 he rented a cottage near Kelmscott House and set up three printing presses .

He had long been interested in the printing and the binding of fine books, and there, influenced by mediaeval illuminated manuscripts and the work of early printers such as Caxton, he would design and manufacture beautiful editions of over fifty books (printed in over 18,000 volumes) written by himself as well as by those — including Coleridge , Keats , Shelley , Tennyson , Rossetti , Swinburne , and his favorite mediaeval authors — who had influenced him, and to whom, in this series of final gestures, he paid a kind of tribute. The books issued by the Kelmscott Press were expensive — Morris designed his own typefaces, made his own paper, and printed by hand — but they were beautiful. They were designed to be read slowly, to be appreciated, to be treasured, and thus made an implicit statement about the ideal relationships which ought to exist between the reader, the text, and the author — a statement which we have, by and large, continued to ignore. Left to right: Three views of the Kelmscott Chaucer.

[Click on these images for larger pictures.] As Duncan Robinson points out, To the modern reader, accustomed to the functional sans-serif type faces of the twentieth century, Kelmscott publications have a decorative richness that places them squarely in the Victorian period. With their ornamental bindings, foliated borders and woodcut illustrations they have become prime examples of late nineteenth-century decorative art, from the hands of the man who made a greater contribution to that field than any other individual. But this should not be allowed to obscure the very clear emphasis that Morris placed, in stating his aims as a printer, upon clarity and simplicity. 'I began printing books', he wrote, 'with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters.' [13] The finest achievement of the Kelmscott Press — The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, designed by Morris and illustrated by his old friend Burne-Jones — appeared shortly before his death: the most beautiful book of its day, it serves as a fitting tribute both to Chaucer — his poetic "Master" — and to Morris himself.

Morris and Co, the catalogue of a 1979 exhibition at The Fine Art Society, describes the Kelmscott Chaucer and quotes Morris's credits: Containing eighty-seven woodcut illustrations after Burne-Jones with title, borders and initials designed by William Morris. Printed in red and black on paper, bound in pigskin at the Doves Bindery, 1896. The Kelmscott Chaucer, the most famous of all Morris' printed works, occupied much of his time during the last six years of his life. It was the culmination of the artistic collaboration between Morris and Burne-Jones, which had spanned nearly forty years. Morris, in the penultimate paragraph, apportions the credits thus: Here ends the Book of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by F. S. Ellis; ornamented with pictures designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and engraved on wood by W. H. Hooper. Printed by me William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of Middlesex. Finished on the 8th day of May, 1896. [p.

55] The edition on paper was limited to 425 copies. Folio Related Material William Morris and the Kelmscott Press | Cleveland Museum of Art The Golden Legend (1892), Golden type. The Historyes of Troye (1892), Troy type. The Order of Chivalry (1892), Chaucer type. This woodcut title page was designed by William Morris for the only Kelmscott book to use a non-Morris type. Atlanta in Calydon's (1894) Greek passages were set from Macmillan electrotype. Miller argues that work such as The Water of Wondrous Isles (1897) should be read as "simultaneously archaic and futuristic."8 This invoice from prominent London book dealer Bernard Quaritch dated October 3, 1917, provides the only known documentation of the Marlatts' collecting. A William Morris and the Kelmscott Press "The most celebrated private press in the history of printing"1 was founded by William Morris (1834-1896) in 1891.

At age 56, Morris was internationally known for the furniture, stained glass, wallpaper, and textiles sold through his firm, Morris & Co; for his many literary works; and for founding the breakaway Socialist League. Morris wanted to return to pre-Industrial production methods because he claimed printing had reached a low point. He embarked on what he termed his "typographical adventure" at his Oxfordshire home, Kelmscott Manor. Biographer Fiona MacCarthy explains that the Press was Morris' most personal project in both form and content: he executed detailed design work and supervised an overall aesthetic in order to publish his own writings and to distribute texts of great personal significance. Admirers marvel at the artistry of the books, but the productivity of the Press is equally impressive. In just seven years, they produced over 22,000 copies of 53 titles. The most famous of these is The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (1896), known as the Kelmscott Chaucer, which Secretary of the Press Sydney Cockerell identifies as their most important achievement. Initially, Morris was so eager to start that he printed the first book in 1891 before Walter Crane's slated illustrations were even finished.

The Glittering Plain, which appeared with engravings in 1894, was the only title printed twice at the Kelmscott Press. The success of Kelmscott was due to the talents of men like editor F. S. Ellis (1830-1901), illustrator Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), and engraver W. H. Hooper (1834-1912). Morris originally hired the young Sydney Cockerell (1867-1962) to catalog his personal library but he "soon made himself indispensable"2 and was ultimately Morris' literary executor. His diary and records constitute the most significant primary sources available on the Press. Upon his deathbed, Morris asked Cockerell to continue the Kelmscott Press. Cockerell wanted to close the Press to preserve the integrity and quality of Morris' publications. It took a year and a half to finish all existing projects and to close the Press. Aesthetic of the Press The Kelmscott style is very consistent, unlike some small presses which make separate design decisions for each title.

All the volumes feature thick, handmade linen paper; Morris' ideal margin proportions; and durable, handsewn binding. On the Albion letterpress, Morris insisted on old-fashioned black ink so difficult to use that the printers threatened to strike. Poems by the Way (1891) was the first Kelmscott book to appear in two colors. Love is Enough (1897), which also used blue ink, is one of just two tri-colored volumes by the Press. Morris designed each of the three Kelmscott fonts. The Golden Legend (1892) uses the Press' first type, a roman now referred to as Golden. The black-letter Troy type is named after the book in which it first appeared. Chaucer type, a smaller version of Troy designed for use in the mammoth Chaucer, first appeared in The Order of Chivalry (1892). The plain Kelmscott covers arguably belie their handsome contents, but they create a dramatic contrast with highly ornamented pages such as Morris' woodcut title and border found in Charles Algernon Swinburne's Atlanta in Calydon (1894).

The beauty of the Kelmscott books is unquestioned; the technical handiwork marks the highest standards of craftsmanship. It is also widely agreed that Morris almost single-handedly spurred the small and fine press movement. Interpretations of Kelmscott, however, are wildly divergent. Susan Thompson summarizes: "Its influence has had to be granted; its intrinsic value has been hotly debated since the days of Morris himself."3 One possible reading is to focus solely on aesthetic merits; for an example of the book as apolitical art object with beauty as its only goal, see the Minneapolis Institute of Arts exhibition catalog William Morris and His Circle: 25 January - 4 June 1989. Most critics, however, debate whether the Kelmscott Press represents a reactionary conservativism or a radically progressive vision.

Does this collection reveal a disturbing "fetish,"4 function as the stale "19th century equivalent of oldies radio,"5 or document the "significant cultural act" of a "radical craftsman" at work?6 Is there a discrepancy between Morris's Socialism and his Press or, as Elizabeth Carolyn Miller argues, "a concord between his aesthetics and his politics?"7 The Surprise Bequest The Kelmscott Collection was given to the Ingalls Library as part of a surprise bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art by William H. (1869-1937) and Julia Morgan Marlatt (1873-1939). During their lives, they never contributed more than their CMA membership dues and they did not socialize with museum benefactors. Yet curator of paintings Henry Francis wrote to museum director William Milliken explaining that Julia was known to "frequent the Museum Sunday afternoons with her husband and watch quietly the enjoyment of others."9 The Marlatts bequethed one milliion dollars of their estate to CMA. Thanks to their generous donation, which included over three hundred books, the Ingalls Library boasts a nearly complete run of the Kelmscott Press.

All fifty-three titles are represented; only volume six of William Morris' eight-volume collection of stories The Earthly Paradise is missing. 1. William S. Peterson, "Introduction," in A Note by William Morris (New York: Grolier Club/William Morris Society, 1996), xi. 2. Fiona MacCarthy, "William Morris: The Building of a Book," Matrix: A Review for Printers and Bibliophiles 15 (Winter 1995): 16. 3. Susan Thompson, "Kelmscott Press: Golden Type's Golden Touch?" Book Collector's Market 2 (August 1976): 12. 4. Douglas Dowd, "Meditations on the C-word," Contemporary Impressions 3 (Spring 1995): 7. 5. Dowd, 8. 6. Dowd, 7. 7. Elizabeth Carolyn Miller, "William Morris, Print Culture, and the Politics of Aestheticism," MODERNISM / modernity 15 (2008): 479. 8. Miller, 492. 9. Louis V. Adrean and Marsha A.

Morrow, "A Quiet Bequest," Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine, September 2006, 13. William, designer who founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890 - Crossword clues & answers - Global Clue Useful website for every solver William, designer who founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890 Let's find possible answers to "William, designer who founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890" crossword clue. First of all, we will look for a few extra hints for this entry: William, designer who founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890. Finally, we will solve this crossword puzzle clue and get the correct word. We have 1 possible solution for this clue in our database. Related clues Kelmscott Chaucer - The British Library Description English William Morris, the 19th-century designer, social reformer and writer, founded the Kelmscott Press towards the end of his life. He wanted to revive the skills of hand printing, which mechanisation had destroyed, and restore the quality achieved by the pioneers of printing in the 15th century.

The magnificent The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer now newly imprinted, published in 1896, is the triumph of the press. Its 87 wood-cut illustrations are by Edward Burne-Jones, the celebrated Victorian painter, who was a life-long friend of Morris. The illustrations were engraved by William Harcourt Hooper and printed in black, with shoulder and side titles. Some lines were printed in red, using Chaucer type, with some titles in Troy type. The whole was printed on Batchelor handmade paper watermarked: Perch. Who was William Morris? Though best-known today as a designer of fabrics and wallpapers, in his own time Morris was equally famous for his writing and his pioneering socialism. He was a man of fierce energies and strong opinions. When he was taken to court for knocking a policeman’s helmet off during a political demonstration, Morris was stubbornly unrepentant. In his socialist vision of a future Britain, News from Nowhere, the Houses of Parliament are used for the storage of dung – all they are good for, says the book’s narrator. William Morris was born into a prosperous middle-class family in Walthamstow, then a village just outside London, in 1834.

He went up to Oxford University to study theology, but lost his faith and left before taking his degree. At Oxford, however, he met Edward Burne-Jones, and both joined a group of young men who circled around the charismatic figure of Gabriel Dante Rossetti, poet and artist. Morris determined to become a painter himself. His pictures were disappointing, and his ambition was abandoned. Morris was dismayed by the shoddy quality of the mass-produced goods turned out by the industrial machinery of the 19th century, which he saw as degrading taste and everyday life. In 1861, he persuaded his artist and designer friends to join him in setting up a company to produce quality furniture, printed textiles, tapestries, wallpaper and stained glass. But Morris’s bluff manner alienated his partners, and in 1875 he resolved to buy them out and re-launch the firm as Morris & Company. How did the Kelmscott Press come about? Morris developed an interest in printing through the publication of his own writings and his friendship with Emery Walker, an expert on typography and a fellow member of the Hammersmith Socialist League.

Together they studied early printed books, known as incunabula - a term derived from the Latin word for ‘cradle’ since the books come from the infancy of printing, before 1501. Frustrated by the declining standard of printed book, Morris set up his own press “with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time… not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters”. How was the Kelmscott Press different? Morris’ approach to design was fundamentalist: he went back to the basics of any medium he employed. For his printed fabrics he had re-created dyes from traditional recipes. For his book making he looked back to the earliest days of printing in the 15th century. He took as his inspiration the type made by Nicholas Jensen in Venice in the 1470s. Individual letters from one of Jensen’s books were photographed and enlarged. Morris copied the shapes of the letters over and over until he was confident he had the measure of them. He then drew designs of his own, in the spirit of Jensen but not slavishly copied. Morris insisted on handmade paper.

His search led to a paper-mill at Little Chart, in Kent, whose owner was prepared to try matching the 15th-century Italian papers Morris admired. Ink came from the German firm of Jaenecke – but only after Morris abandoned the idea of making his own in order to be absolutely sure of the quality of its ingredients. At the beginning of 1891, premises were found at 16 Upper Mall, Hammersmith. William Bowden was engaged as master-printer to run the practical side of the business. Morris named the press after Kelmscott Manor, his beloved country house in Wiltshire. Who was Chaucer? Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with having set the style for Middle English literature. He was born in London, around 1345, into a well-connected family of wine-merchants and earned his living as an administrative servant of the royal court. His first literary works were translations of French originals or much influenced by them. Later, Chaucer’s writing picks up an Italian flavour through his diplomatic visits there.

Finally, French, Italian and classical influences are synthesised into a truly English style in Chaucer’s two mature works: Troilus and Criseyde and the Canterbury Tales. The continuous publication of the Canterbury Tales since the author’s death, and the inspiration the stories have provided for other writers and artists, are testimony to the enduring appeal of Chaucer’s writing. What’s special about the Kelmscott Chaucer? The Kelmscott Chaucer set a new benchmark for book design at the end of the 19th century. It was also the last great project of Morris’s life, bringing together two of his passions. First, his love of medieval literature, which inspired the subjects and style of much of his own writing. Second, his socialist philosophy, which looked back to a time before mechanisation and division of labour had destroyed, as he saw it, the personal fulfilment and social function of meaningful work. The book was exceptional in its ambitious number of illustrations and rich decorative borders. “If we live to finish it,” Burne-Jones wrote, “it will be like a pocket cathedral – so full of design and I think Morris the greatest master of ornament in the world.” How was the book made?

Morris and Burne-Jones worked on the book for four years. Early in 1892, two trial pages were set in one of Morris’s types, called ‘Troy’. The results were not satisfactory, the problem being the type size. A smaller version of the same design was cut, and christened ‘Chaucer’. Morris had intended to begin designs for the decorative borders immediately, but illness prevented him from starting until a year later. Meanwhile, Edward Burne-Jones spent every Sunday on the book’s 87 illustrations, working long hours in fear that Morris might die before the project was finished. His pencil drawings were painted over in Chinese white and Indian ink by R. Catterson-Smith, whose interpretive role is often overlooked. The black-and-white designs were then transferred to wooden blocks and engraved by William Harcourt Hooper.

On seeing the first copy, Burne-Jones wrote: “When Morris and I were little chaps at Oxford, if such a book had come out then we should have just gone off our heads, but we have made at the end of our days the very thing we would have made then if we could." Burne-Jones penned a humorous cartoon to mark the occasion, showing himself and Morris embraced by the ghost of Chaucer, who pronounces a grateful benediction: “Bless Ye My Children.” 425 copies were printed and sold at £20 each. A further 13 copies printed on vellum were priced at 120 guineas (£126), and 48 were specially bound in white pig’s skin with silver clasps. In the same year, 1896, William Morris died. Full title: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer now newly imprinted Published: The Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press Keyboard Shortcuts Preview This Course Join Sean Adams for an in-depth discussion in this video The Kelmscott Press, part of Foundations of Graphic Design History: The Arts and Crafts Movement.

Exercise Files - Today, we see a decrease in the production of books.…The internet is our way to find information,…but that has forced the books that are published…to be the highest quality.…People treasure books, not websites.…In the same way, as mass printing replaced…high end book production,…beautiful books obsessed William Morris.…He spent hours in antiquarian book stores…looking for the best bindings, decoration and quality.…Morris was disgusted by the increasingly poor quality…of modern printing, design and binding.… The rush to produce large quantities of books…destroyed the craft of fine typography,…printing and illustration.…With the scarcity of fine bookmaking,…like most of his other ventures,…Morris saw a need and founded his own press,…The Kelmscott Press, in 1890.…It was here where his genius for pattern…and a desire to return to a medieval world…came together.…Kelmscott's first book was the Glittering Plain.…The lavish borders recalled Morris' wall paper and textiles.… He integrated elaborate initial caps…and romanticized illustrations of medieval life.… Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll William Morris - The Arts and Crafts Movement William Morris - The Arts and Crafts Movement WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1

896) 'Tulip and Willow' 1873 (pencil and watercolour sketch for print design) William Morris was a leading member of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

He is best known for his pattern designs, particularly on fabrics and wallpapers. His vision in linking art to industry by applying the values of fine art to the production of commercial design was a key stage in the evolution of design as we know it today. William Morris was an artist, designer, printer, typographer, bookbinder, craftsman, poet, writer and champion of socialist ideals. He believed that a designer should have a working knowledge of any media that he used and as a result he spent a lot of time teaching himself a wide variety of techniques. Like many designers of his time, Morris was skilled in a wide range of arts and crafts. For example, although he is famous for his wallpaper designs, he also founded the Kelmscott Press which published high quality hand bound books and was very influential in the revival of the private press.

'The Diligent Study of Nature' WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) 'Windrush' 1881-83 (pencil and watercolour sketch for textile design) The creative approach that William Morris employed in his designs was revealed in a lecture from 1874: 'first, diligent study of Nature and secondly, study of the work of the ages of Art'. Morris felt that the 'diligent study of Nature' was important, as nature was the perfect example of God's design. He saw this as the spiritual antidote to the decline in social, moral and artistic standards during the Industrial Revolution. Likewise the 'study of the work of the ages of Art', a reference to the appreciation of art history, was equally important as Morris encouraged artists to look to the past for their inspiration believing that the art of his own age was inferior. Morris' solution was for a return to the values of the Gothic art of the middle Ages, where artists and craftsmen had worked together with a common purpose: to glorify God through the practice of their skills.

The model for this solution was the medieval crafts guilds which he saw as a type of socialist brotherhood where everybody fulfilled themselves according to their level of ability. Morris felt that this would enhance the quality of life for all, and that artistic activity itself would be seen as a force for good in society. WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) 'African Marigold' 1876 (pencil and watercolour sketch for textile design) The medieval crafts guilds were groups of artists, architects, and craftsmen who formed an alliance to maintain high standards of workmanship, regulate trade and competition, and protect the secrets of their crafts. The guilds were usually composed of smaller workshops of associated crafts from the same town who banded together into larger groups for their own protection and prosperity. They operated on a Master, Journeyman and Apprentice system where the master would take on apprentices to train them in the skills of his craft. The apprentices were 'bound' to work for free for that master for a period of around five to nine years. In return the master would look after their welfare and education in the skills of his craft until they graduated as journeymen.

As journeymen, they were not only paid for their work but also free to go and work for other masters. In time, if a journeyman demonstrated outstanding skill in his craft, he could advance in the guild to the position of master and take on his own apprentices. WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) 'Trellis' 1862 (pencil and watercolour sketch for wallpaper design) Morris was one of the great pattern designers. His classic designs are still commercially available as wallpapers and textiles. His patterns are inspired by his intimate knowledge of natural forms discovered through drawing and stylized through his detailed knowledge of historical styles. They were usually titled with the names of the flowers that they depicted such as 'Chrysanthemum', 'Jasmine', 'Acanthus', and 'Sunflower'. In effect, Morris took the natural forms that he found outside in the woods and meadows and used them to decorate the inside of our homes. His wallpaper designs were echoed in his textile, tapestry and carpet designs. Their images are similar, only simplified due to the limitations of coarser media.

WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) 'Trellis', 1862 (wallpaper design) Morris' design for 'Trellis', his first attempt at a wallpaper design, was based on roses growing over trellises in the garden at the Red House, his classic Arts and Crafts Movement home, at Bexleyheath in Kent. The pattern shows a medieval influence as it is recalls the ornamental decoration to be found on illuminated manuscripts and tapestries. The birds and insects which were later added to the final design were drawn by Philip Webb, the architect of the Red House. 'Trellis' was one of Morris' favourite designs and he chose it to decorate his bedroom at Kelmscott House in London where he spent his final years. WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) 'Typefaces', 1897 (printed page) In 1891, Morris founded the Kelmscott Press, named after the village near Oxford where he had lived since 1871. The Kelmscott Press produced high quality hand-printed books to be seen and cherished as objects d'art.

Morris designed and cut the typefaces, ornamental borders and title pages which were based on the style of medieval manuscripts, while the illustrations were created by the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Edward Burne-Jones. The books were printed on handmade paper, copied from 15th century Italian samples, and bound in vellum. Although Morris looked to the past for inspiration, his aims anticipate modernist ideas on typography and layout: 'I began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye......I found I had to consider chiefly the following things: the paper, the form of the type, the relative spacing of the letters, the words, and the lines; and lastly the position of the printed matter on the page'. 'The Nature of Gothic' Kelmscott Press 1892 (Title Page from 'The Stones of Venice' by John Ruskin) Altogether Kelmscott published 53 titles (18,000 copies in all), including 'The Nature of Gothic', a chapter from 'The Stones of Venice' by the art critic, John Ruskin.

Morris, who wrote the preface praising the book, had been greatly inspired by Ruskin whose writings influenced the Arts and Crafts movement by encouraging the revival of Gothic art and architecture. The Kelmscott Press was never a financial success as their beautifully hand-crafted books were too expensive to produce at a profit. It was an enterprise that Morris ran simply for pleasure. Kelmscott only ran for seven years and closed in 1898, two years after the death of Morris. However, the high standard of their output inspired a revival of the private press across Europe and America and influenced the development of typography and graphic design in the early 20th century. The Arts and Crafts Movement The 'dark Satanic mills' of the Industrial Revolution The Arts and Crafts Movement (1850-1900) was a reaction against the Industrial Revolution. The development of the steam engine by James Watt in 1765 led to the mechanization of industry, agriculture and transportation and changed the life of the working man in Britain. The cities and towns grew to accommodate the expanding industries and the influx of workers from the countryside looking for employment.

However, living standards gradually deteriorated and industrialization left people with a sense that their life had changed for the worst. Many had sacrificed a rural lifestyle 'in England's green and pleasant land' for the sake of a job in the 'dark Satanic mills' of the Industrial Revolution. As a result, they lost that feeling of security and belonging which comes from living in smaller communities. The members of the Arts and Crafts Movement included artists, architects, designers, craftsmen and writers. They feared that industrialization was destroying the environment in which traditional skills and crafts could prosper, as machine production had taken the pride, skill and design out of the quality of goods being manufactured. They believed that hand crafted objects were superior to those made by machine and that the rural craftsman had a superior lifestyle to those who slaved in the urban mills and factories. They were convinced that the general decline of artistic standards brought on by industrialization was linked to the nation's social and moral decline. The Journal of the Century Guild Hobby Horse (Edition No1, April 1884) The Arts and Crafts Movement formed into various crafts guilds to try to recreate the dignified working environment that existed in the medieval crafts guilds.

They gave themselves names such as the Century Guild, the Guild of Saint George, the Art Workers Guild and the Guild of Handicraft. The Century Guild was the first of the craft guilds to form. It was founded in 1882, under the influence of William Morris, by the architect and designer A.H. Mackmurdo. In 1884 the guild published a quarterly journal called 'Hobby Horse' to promote their aims and ideals. In particular, they championed the craft of printing as an art form which inspired Morris to found the Kelmscott Press. WALTER CRANE (1845-1915) 'Neptune's Horses', 1893 (oil on canvas) Among other noteworthy guilds was the prestigious Art Workers Guild, whose membership included lecturers and principles from the leading art schools. Walter Crane, the principal of the Royal College of Art in 1897-8 and a renowned illustrator of children's books, was a founding member. The architect and theorist, W. R.

Lethaby, the first Professor of Design at the RCA, became the original director and co-founder of the London Central School of Arts and Crafts, the first college to introduce craft workshops to promote Arts and Crafts principles within mainstream art education. This integration of design with art education is one of the great legacies of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The Decline of Arts and Crafts DR. CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) 'Teapot', 1879 Despite its high ideals, the Arts and Crafts Movement was essentially flawed. Their opposition to modern methods of production and the tendency to look back to the medieval world, rather than forward to a progressive era of complete mechanization, was what eventually sounded the death knell of the movement. They could only fail in their socialist ideal of producing affordable quality hand-crafted design for the masses as the production costs of their designs were so high that they could only be purchased by the wealthy. Also, any movement which continually looks to the past for its inspiration must have a limited life span. There are only so many ways you can reinterpret the past without becoming repetitive.

However, the greatest legacy of the Arts and Crafts movement was their understanding of the relationship between design and our quality of life. This set the example for others who would later attempt to use the power of industrial mass production in the service of good design. Some designers, such as Christopher Dresser whose work still looks remarkably modern, started to reject the limitations of the Arts and Crafts ideals and positively embrace the techniques of industrial manufacturing. This was the start of a design evolution that would eventually culminate in the foundation of the Bauhaus School of Art and Design which became the prototype for art education in the 20th century. William Morris Notes 'Mackintosh - aged 25years', 1883 (photograph) William Morris was a leading member of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris is mostly known as a designer of patterns for wallpaper and textiles. Morris was also an artist, designer, printer, typographer, bookbinder, craftsman, poet, writer and champion of socialist ideals. Morris believed that the art and design of his own time was inferior and unworthy. He felt that this was due to the poor quality of life during the Industrial Revolution. Morris believed that nature was the perfect example of God's design.

Morris believed that all design should be based on nature which he saw as the spiritual remedy to the inferior standards of art and design during the Industrial Revolution. Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Morris encouraged artists and designers to look back to medieval art for their inspiration as this was a time when artists and craftsmen worked together with equal status. Morris founded the Kelmscott Press to create beautiful handmade books which would elevate the craft of printing to an art form. Arts and Crafts Movement Notes 'Kelmscott Manor' 1893 (Frontispiece from 'News from Nowhere') The Arts and Crafts Movement was a reaction against the poor quality of design during the Industrial Revolution. The members of the Arts and Crafts Movement believed that the growth of industry had destroyed traditional skills and had removed the pride that a craftsman could find in his work. The members of the Arts and Crafts Movement formed themselves into crafts guilds, based on the medieval examples, in order to encourage high standards of design and provide a supportive working environment.

The crafts guilds gave themselves names such as the Century Guild, the Guild of Saint George, the Art Workers Guild and the Guild of Handicraft. The Arts and Crafts Movement raised the status of design in art education and established it as an essential element in the manufacturing process. Graphic Design Menus AbeBooks: Collecting Kelmscott: William Morris & His Quest for Fine Books Home > Rare Book Room > Collecting Kelmscott: William Morris & His Quest for Fine Books Collecting Kelmscott: William Morris & His Quest for Fine Books Kelmscott's Works of Geoffrey Chaucer More than 100 years after his death, William Morris – founder of the Kelmscott Press – remains an influential figure in design and art, and his Kelmscott fine press books are highly prized. The textile designer, author and artist founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891. Morris (1834-1896) published his own work as well as translations and reprints of mediaeval writing he believed should be read. A traditionalist in every sense of the word, Morris wanted to preserve the relationship between art and books.

He detested the mechanisation of art during a period when the western world was embracing mechanisation. Morris was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood , an organization that strived to produce art reminiscent of the romantic, medieval eras. These ideals were instrumental in everything that Morris did from the initiation of the Arts and Crafts movement in late 19th century England, the design and decoration of his famous Red House , his design and manufacture of textiles and, of course, the Kelmscott Press. Kelmscott Press was founded in a cottage where Morris set up three printing presses that he used to print books by traditional methods. To maintain the traditional feel, Morris designed two typefaces based on 15th century fonts. He also made his own paper to complete his handmade books. Despite the painstaking effort put into each publication and the fact that Kelmscott was only in operation for seven years, the small press managed to produce more than 18,000 copies of more than 50 different works. In true fine press tradition, the Kelmscott print runs were short and the books were not cheap, but they were beautiful and exemplified the Arts and Crafts movement.

Kelmscott's finest achievement is probably its edition of Works of Geoffrey Chaucer . The books were designed by Morris himself and illustrated by fellow Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones . It was the finest and most beautiful book of its day, containing 87 woodcut illustrations to accompany Chaucer’s masterful tales. Books by the Kelmscott Press Error404 | William Morris William Morris Page not Found About Every year, Special Collections & University Archives staff work together to create relevant and interesting exhibits on topics that are of interest to the University, the community, and to scholars. This exhibit examines the life and vision of inspirational firebrand William Morris. It focuses on his written works, political activism and artistic endeavors. Morris was a man of incredible depth and breadth of talent. His creativity and industry are aspirational for today's citizens. "How We Might Live: The Vision of William Morris" seeks to instruct viewers on the rich life of William Morris and to showcase the University of Maryland Libraries' William Morris Collection. Exhibition Team

Question: Who founded the Kelmscott Press?
Answer: William Morris